Baseball

Newell Takes Home Big West Field Player of the Week Honors

Cameron Newell (Photo by Vince Agapito)

Apr 29, 2013

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UCSB sophomore center fielder Cameron Newell was named Big West Field Player of the Week after hitting .643 over four games against the University of San Diego and UC Riverside, the conference announced on Monday afternoon.

This is the first time a Gaucho has been named the Field Player of the Week this season. The last UCSB player to take home the honor was Brett Vertigan in April 2012.

Newell was as locked in as possible at the plate over the past week, going 9-14 for a .643 average. The speedy lefty also drew a walk and was hit by a pitch twice to give him an impressive .706 on-base percentage. His exploits with the bat led the Gauchos to a 3-1 record.

In Wednesday's win over USD, he picked up a pair of singles while driving in a pair of runs, scoring two more himself, and stealing a base.

Over the weekend at UC Riverside, Newell had three-hit performances on Friday and Sunday, and doubled for the Gauchos only extra-base hit in Saturday's win.

Newell – who is riding an eight game hit streak – has really picked up his play since the start of the Big West conference schedule, collecting hits in 21 of UCSB's last 22 games to see his average rise from .237 to .302. The Roseburg, Ore. native has reached base in all but two of his 41 starts this season.

Cameron and the rest of the Gauchos will take on the UC Irvine Anteaters in a three game series this weekend. First pitch for Friday's opener is set for 2:00 p.m.